I've used an old Rapala brand fillet knife for decades. Honestly, I think any WalMart knife will be fine. I keep my knives extremely sharp with frequent use of a diamond hone. If you're thinking about WW fish to eat, perhaps a more important consideration would be a scaler tool. Again, brand isn't too important but you'll want to have one as scaling a big walleye or striped bass using the blade of your fillet knife is an exercise in mess and time wasted.

I'll agree that any knife from Walmart, dicks, or sports authority will work fine. But my preference is for the Dexter Russell Sani Safe fillet knifes. Some might think its overkill but at about $10-$20 you'll get a commercial quality knive. I have used several models when working commercial boats down the shore. But again any knife will work the key is keeping it sharp with a diamond hone for about 5-10 bucks. A quality knife will become clear with the striped bass afish mentioned to remove the skin hence no need to descale them. JMO

I worked in a fish market for 5 years and only used Victorinox knives...the same company that owns Swiss Army Knives.

I think a boning knife is under $30 and a fillet knife is about teh same.

I recomend the boning knife for a better all-round knife and it certainly can fillet a fish.

The only problem is finding on. There is a hardware store in Reedsville that sells them; but google is probably a better option for you.

Of course, any kitchen store in an outlet or mall will definately have them. Heck, come to think of it most department stores like Penny's or Macy's will sell them too, but will be the most expensive option.

no I'm not joking... for the price they're a fantastic set and has a boning and fillet knife included. Had a set for the kitchen for about 6 years and they're no cutco, but they're much better than almost any basic block set you get in stores.

Well, now, if you have questions regarding the grade of steel used on the blade, I'm your man. I design em. Though my expertise is on the higher end stuff. Better steels are generally more expensive, but aside from holding an edge longer, they'll also take a sharper edge.

Agree, though, that any old blade will work. Cheaper ones are usually made of 420 series or 440 A or B. Mid-grade knives are often 440C or some variant. Then you get into the higher end steels where I mostly work.

For most people, for general use, 440C will work just fine and they'd never know the difference. Just not worth it for them to spend over $100 for a true quality knife that'll whittle hair and never develop a rust spot when the $50 Dick's version does what they need it to do.

Another one here, Spyderco is an excellent company that loves dealing with the higher quality stuff, though I think they only make one or two fillet knives and they start at over $100. Ours are the CTS branded alloys, made right here in PA (sorry for the plug).

I don't know the exact grade of the Dexter steels, but am familiar with what "category" they are in. Similar to the Victorinox knives. They use X55CrMoV14, which is a European designation in the same ballpark as 420HC. German made steel.

Both are very soft for knife blade steels. Neither will take a great edge or hold it for very long. But both are VERY stainless and very tough. So you aren't gonna rust them or break them. And while they don't take a great edge, they should be quick and easy to sharpen.

Swattie, I know you were joking. But Hitachi steel indeed calls their cutlery lines "blue" and "white".

Hitachi Blue Super Steel is one of the funnier trade names out there. Wouldn't recommend it for a fillet knife, though. Some call it stainless, some non-stainless, but the reality is that it's somewhere in between. It's gonna rust if it sniffs the slightest bit of salt.